Revolving display stand



Nov. 29, 1938. F. A. COOPER REVOLVING DISPLAY STAND' Filed Dec. 31, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 DWS L L. '/zFE TURN Fran A. Cooper,

Nov. 29, 193s. F A, COOPER 2,138,730

REVOLVING DISPLAY STAND Filed Deo. 3l, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 29, 1938. F. A. COOPER RIEH'OLVING DISPLAY STAND Filed Dec. 31, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Frank Cae/oer;

Patented Nov. 29, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE REVOLVING DISPLAY STAND Application December 31, 1935, Serial No. 57,059

6 Claims.

The invention relates to a revolving display stand.

An object of the present invention is to improve the construction of revolving display stands equipped with a revolving platform adapted to support a mannequin for displaying gowns, coats, dresses, etc., and to provide a simple, practical and comparatively inexpensive revolving display stand of strong, durable and comparatively inexpensive construction adapted to afford reliable and satisfactory service without any likelihood of its breaking down or otherwise getting out of order even when subjected to a comparatively heavy load.

Many display windows of stores have a floor which is pitched and not level and in a number of instances there is a decided slope or pitch. The revolving display iixtures on the market do not allow or compensate for this slope or pitch of the window iloor with the result that any tall display fixture does not revolve on a perpendicular aXis and the display gure or model because of the tipping or listing, and particularly if the mannequin or display form is a heavy one, constantly subjects the mechanism of the revolving stand to a severe leverage strain. Also in the case of a heavy life size mannequin weighing about 160 pounds the effect is grotesque, unless the head and body revolves on a vertical axis without side sway or tipping.

In order to eliminate such leverage strains and prevent faulty and grotesque operation due to unlevel window floors, it is an object of the invention to equip the display stand with easily operable and quickly adjustable means for leveling the display stand and with conveniently located spirit levels positioned for accurately determining when the rotary platform is in a true horizontal position.

A further object of the invention is to enable the rotary platform to be driven by an electric motor having its motor shaft rotating in one direction only, and to provide mechanical means adapted to rotate the platform first in one direction and then in the opposite direction with a pause or stop of the desired duration at the end of each rotary movement and without interfering with the continuous uniform operation of the mtor and without the employment of an electrical switch control of the driving mechanism, clutches, or other devices which interrupt and interfere with the smooth, continuous, uniform operation of the driving mechanism.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for enabling the frame of the machine to support the rotary platform and the weight carried by the same and thereby relieve the shaft which rotates the platform of such weight and the torque and strains incident to prior revolving display stands where such shaft is required not only F to rotate the platform but also to support the same and the weight of a mannequin or other figure or form Vfor displaying gowns, dresses and other garments and the like.

Another object of the invention is to provide a display stand capable of imitating the exact movements of a live model when displaying gowns, coats, dresses, etc. and adapted to make one or one and a half revolutions or more in a clockwise direction and then stop for any desired period ll5 of time which can be for one to thirty seconds, then reverse the direction of rotation of the platform and rotate the same in a counterclockwise direction for one-half a revolution or a multiple thereof and then stop for the desired period of time with the back of a gown, dress or other article on display at the front of the revolving display stand. By means of these clockwise and counterclockwise rotary movements of the platform and the intermediate pauses between the 25 rotary movements a person standing in front of a store window can examine a gown, coat, dress or any other article of merchandise displayed by the device of the present invention, from all angles and from both directions, that is from front to rear and from rear to front. The definite pauses provided afford prospective customers plenty of time to examine both the front and back of the merchandise on display and the effect is quite startling because of dierent impressions obtained of the merchandise depending upon the direction in which the same is turned.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a revolving display stand having a cycle of clockwise and counterclockwise rotations and intervening pauses whereby the front of the garment on display will be displayed twice to each display of the back of the garment.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various o changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention. 55

In the drawings:

Figure lis a plan View of a display stand constructed in accordance with this invention, the rotary platform being removed and its position being illustrated by dot and dash line.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same partly in section.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substantially on the line 3--3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially on the line 1 -ll of Figure i.

Figure 5 is a similar View taken on the line 5--5 of Figure 1, the gearing being shown` in elevation.

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the cam groove.

Figure '7 is a plan view of the rotaryvplatform illustrating the arrangement of the` spirit levels.

Fig. 8 is a detail sectional View showing one of the legs and one of the spirit levels of the base of the frame.

Fig. 9 is a similar view showing another leg and the other spirit level of the base of the frame.

Fig. 10 is a detail sectional View on the line lili-I0 ofFig.7.

In the accompanying drawings in which is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention the display stand comprises in its construction a substantially rectangular base I preferably consisting of a casting and provided at the corners with outwardly extending diagonally projecting integral supporting legs 2 disposed at a slight inclination, as clearly illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings. The legs extend downwardly and outwardly and are provided at their outer ends with threaded openings for the reception of vertical leveling screws 4 extending through the outer ends of the legs and provided at their lower ends with rubber pads 5 adapted to rest upon a suitable supporting surface such as the floor of a window or other surface where it is desired to use the'display stand. The lower ends of the vertical leveling screws extend into the rubber pads which have sockets 5c in their upper faces for the reception of the lower terminals of the screws 4.

The leveling screws 4 are'provided at their upper ends with knurled heads 6 and have mounted upon them lock nuts 'i which are adapted to engage the upperv faces of the legs for locking therleveling screws 4 in their adjustment. The legs 2 are provided at their outer ends with flat upper surfaces 8 which are engaged by the locking nuts 1. The leveling screws are adapted to level the display stand on window floors having a decided pitch andrby adjusting the leveling screws so that the display stand is in a true perpendicular position, the strain and wear of the parts incident to the operation of such a display stand on an inclined surface are eliminated and at the same time there is no liability of the display stand presenting the grotesque appearance which often results from the rotation of aA mannequin on an axis at an angle to the perpendicular.

The base is also provided adjacent to one of its corners with an integral horizontal supporting Yarm 9 having a fiat plate or portion I and pref- "porting arm by suitable fastening devices and it is preferably rectangular as clearly shown in Fig.

1 of the-drawings and is of greater size than the horizontal portion I 0 of the supporting arm 9,

The horizontal supporting arm is located adjacent one of the legs 2 of the base and it is preferably formed integral with such leg and the adjacent portion cf the base as clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

The base I which is preferably of hollow formation is provided at the inner ends of the legs with vertical posts I4 formed integral with the legs and preferably reinforced by webs I5 and I6. The posts are four in number and the webs I5 of three of the posts are located at the outer sides thereof and the web I5 of the other post is formed for the passage of screws i8 for securing a bearing ring I9 upon the upper ends of the posts I li.

'Ther bearing ring is provided at the posts 'with depending lugs ZS arranged upon and conforming -to the configuration of the posts and provided with threaded openings or sockets 2l extending upwardly from the lower faces ofthe lugs Yand arranged in alinement with the openingsI'I Vof the posts and engaged by upper threaded ends 22 of the screws I8. The screws i8 which extend entirely through Vthe yvertical posts are provided at their lower ends with heads Z3 which are located within counterbores 2li of the lower ends of the openings Il, The vertical screws i8 detachably secure the bearing ring I9 upon the upper ends of the posts but any other suitable means may of course be employed for detachably securing .the bearing ring to the said posts.

The bearing ring I9 is provided in its upper face with a circular ball race 25 receiving an an.- nular series of antifrictiori balls Z5 which are spaced apart and maintained in proper spaced relation by substantially cylindrical spacing elements 2`I constructed of leather, Bakelite or other suitable material. The antifriction balls 26 and the intervening spacing members 2l may be of any desired number to provide a bearing ring of f the desired diameter for supporting a rotary platform 28 preferably consisting of a casting and provided at its lower face with a circular bearingsurface 29 which rests upon the antifriction balls 26. The circular bearing surface is preferably located adjacent the outer edge of the rotary platform and the annular horizontal ball bearing which supports the rotating platform and the weight carried by the same'relieves a central vertical shaft 3B of torque and strain, as the shaft is not subjected to the direct weight of the rotary platform and the weight of a mannequin or other figure which, in practice, may be placed on the platform for displaying garments such as dresses, suitsv and the like. The rotaryplatform lis provided at its'periphery with a depending circumferential fiange forming a rim 3l and it is reinforced at its lower face by radial ribs 32 extending from a central hub portion 33 to the said rim 3l.

The hub portion 33 which is tubular projects downwardly from the lower face of the platform 28 and receives the upper portion of the central vertical shaft 3!) and it is provided with opposite recesses 34 formed in the lower end of the hub portion 33 andadapted to be detachably engaged by a key 35 piercing the shaft 3d and detachably interlocking the turntable with the shaft. The turntable is adapted to be readily placed on and lifted from the upper end of the central vertical shaft 3l) which is supported against lateral movement at the center by an oilless bushing 35 and at the lower end by a radial thrust bearing 36a.

The radial thrust bearing 36a may be of any de- `75 sired construction and is provided with an annular series of antifriction balls 36b arranged in suitable recesses 31 of upper and lower annular members 38 'and 39.

The base is provided with a bottom section 4l) of a casing 82 consisting of said bottom section 4Q, an intermediate housing section 4I and a horizontal top portion 42 secured together by bolts or other suitable fastening devices. The intermediate housing section 4l which is seated upon the bottom section lil is substantially rectangular and has vertical end portions or walls 43 and 44 provided with suitable bearings 46 for the reception of a horizontal cam shaft i1 upon which is mounted a rotary cam element 48.

The rotary cam element is preferably in the form of a horizontal drum which extends into the bottom section 4l! of the base and it consists of a cylindrical body portion and heads or ends i9 preferably provided with spokes 50 and hub portions 5l mounted on the cam shaft and keyed or otherwise fixed to the same. The cylindrical body portion of the cam element is provided with a cam groove 52 having pitch portions E3, 54 and 55 and intervening circumferential connecting dwell portions 55, 5T and 58. The cam groove 52 is continuous and receives a pin 59 of a reciprocating rack bar 69 arranged in a horizontal guideway 6l in the upper face. of the housing section 42 of the supporting frame which is formed by the said housing sections di), 4l and 42 and the base. The pin 5G which is suitably secured to the rack bar is provided with an antifriction sleeve 52 or other suitable antifriction device which operates in the cam groove 52, and when the cam element is rotated the rack bar will be intermittently actuated and reciprocated by the pitch portions of the cam groove and will pause or stop while the pin 59 is operating in the circumferential dwell portions 56, 5l and 58 which are arranged in parallelism with the sides of the rotary cam element.

The guideway 6l which extends longitudinally of the display stan-d has parallel side walls and spaced bottom portions 63 and 64. The rack bar @Il is provided at one of its side edges with teeth 65 and it has smooth longitudinal portions and 6'! located at the ends of the toothed portion of the rack bar. The other side edg'e of the rack bar is straight and in parallelism with the smooth portions 66 and 5?. The straight side edges of the .end portions of the rack bar are parallel with the pitch line of the teeth. 65 and the said teeth (i5 mesh with a pinion SS keyed or otherwise fixed to the central vertical shaft at the lower portion thereof. The lower portion 69 of the central vertical shaft is preferably reduced to form a shoulder lll against which abuts the pinion 58. The pinion E3 is arranged between the oilless bushing 3@ which is located above the pinion and the radial thrust bearing 36a which is arranged below the pinion.

The cam groove may be varied to provide clockwise rotation of the rotary platform 23 of the desired duration and counterclockwise rotations of the desired lengths separated by a pause of the desired duration. The number of turns of the rotary platform may be varied by varying the formation of the cam groove and the diameter of the cam element and the pinion S8 of the central vertical shaft ll.

Other equivalent mechanical means may of course be provided for imparting to the rotary platform clockwise and counterclockwise rotary movements with intervening pauses or stops of the desired duration. The rack bar is retained in the guideway by a removable cover plate 'l2 detachably secured to the housing section by suitable fastening devices located at opposite sides of the guideway.

The rotary cam element 48 is driven by an electric motor 'i3 detachably secured to the platform i3 by suitable fastening devices and provided on its motor shaft i3@ with a worm 74 which meshes with a worm wheel 'l5 keyed or otherwise secured to a horizontal transverse shaft 16 journaled in suitable bearings l'l and 18 of the housing section. The worm wheel l5 is located adjacent one end of the transverse shaft i6 which is provided adjacent its other end with a worm 'I9 which meshes with a relatively large worm wheel 86 mounted on the cam shaft ll exteriorly of the housing section. rThe housing section is preferabiy cored at 8i to provide a housing for the worm "M of the motor shaft and the worm wheel 15 of the transverse shaft 75. The recess or housing 8l for the worm gearing opens outwardly at one end of the housing section.

All the mechanism for operating the rotary platform with the exception of the electric motor will be housed within the casing 82 adapted to protect the parts from dust and dirt and at the same time form an oil sump for enabling the gearing and other moving parts to run in an cil bath. Also the casing 82 besides protecting the operating mechanism from dust and dirt and permitting the same to run in oil enables the base of the display stand to present a neat and attractive appearance.

The rotary platform 28 is adapted to support a mannequin or other figure or form for displaying garments and it is provided at its upper face with spirit levels S3 arranged radially of the platform at right angles to each other adjacent the central portion of the platform. The spirit levels 83 are preferably mounted in recesses 8E formed by housings or enlargements 85 of the rotary platform 28. The housings or enlargements 85 are located at the lower face of the rotary platform and are preferably integral with the same and are provided with said recesses 84 which extend downwardly from the upper face of the platform 28 so that the spirit levels 33 may be arranged in a slightly depressed position with relation to the upper face of the rotary platform.

The spirit levels 3 enable the rotary platform of a display device to be accurately adjusted so that the central vertical shaft 3&3 will rotate in a true perpendicular position even when the display device is placed upon an inclined surface such as a window floor having a pitch. Also to assist in leveling the display device two adjacent legs 2 are provided with spirit levels 8l arranged at right angles to each other and in parallelism with the diagonals of the base of the machine. The spirit levels 8l are arranged in recesses 8S of casings 89 preferably cast integral with the legs 2 on which the spirit levels are mounted but any other desired construction of spirit level casing may be employed. The recesses 33 are open at the top of the casings 89 for exposing the spirit levels Si. Either or both sets of spirit levels 83 and i'i may be employed and with the leveling screws l they provide for an easy, rapid and accurate leveling of the display stand.

The revolving rotary display stand illustrated in the accompanying drawings is constructed to display the front of the gown or other garment or other item of merchandise twice at the front of the display stand to each display of the back of the garment or other item of merchandise at the front of the revolving display stand. This is due to the fact that the long pitch portion 53 of the cam groove is of a length to produce one rotation of the pinion of the central vertical shaft while the short pitch portions of the cam groove are of a length to cause one-half of a revolution of the pinion of the central vertical shaft. It will thus be seen that if the front of the garment is on display at the front of the revolving display stand, the long pitch portion of the cam groove producing a complete rotation of the pinion will turn the garment completely around, exposing all portions of the garment and returning the front of the garment to the front of the display stand prior to the pin of the rack bar entering the first dwell portion 56 of the cam groove. The next pitch portion 54 of the cam groove Will then rotate the pinion one-half of a revolution, causing the back o f the garment to be displayed at the front of the revolving display stand. The garment will remain in such position until the pin of the rack bar enters the next short pitch portion 55 of the cam groove when the pinion will be rotated another half of a revolution, thus returning the front of the garment to the front of the revolving display stand. Any other desired cycle of operation of the revolving platformmay, of course, be obtained by varying the length of the pitch portions of the cam groove.

What is claimed is 1. A display stand including a frame comprising a base provided with a bottom housing section, an intermediate housing section secured to the base, a top housing section mounted upon the intermediate housing section, said housing sections forming a closed housing and providing an oil sump, posts rising from the base beyond the housing sections and an open bearing ring detachably supported by the posts and located above and spaced from the housing, a rotary platform mounted upon the bearing ring for supporting merchandise to be displayed, a rotary cam drum mounted within the housing, a motor for rotating the cam drum, and mechanism mounted within the top housing section and actuated by the cam drum for rotating the platform.

2. A display stand including a frameV comprising a base provided with a bottom housing section and having a horizontally projecting arm provided with a stationary platform, an intermediate housing section mounted upon the bottom housing section, a top housing section capping, the intermediate housing section, said sections forming a closed housing, posts rising from the base beyond the housing and extending'above the same and a bearing ring supported over the housing by the posts, a motor supported upon the stationary platform exteriorly of the housing, a rotary cam drum mounted within the housing, gearing housed at one side of the housing and connecting the rotary cam drum with the motor, a rotatable platform mounted upon'the bearing ring for supporting merchandise to be displayed, and mechanism housed within the top section of the housing and actuated by the cam drum for rotating the rotary platform.

3. A display stand including a frame comprising a base provided with a bottom housing section, an intermediate housing section mounted upon the bottom housingsection, a top housing section capping the intermediate housing section and provided with a guideway and having a bearing located above the guideway, said sections forming a closed housing, posts rising from the base beyond the housing and extending above the same and a bearing ring supported above the housing by the posts, a rotary platform mounted upon the bearing ring, a vertical shaft mounted in the said bearing and extending through the bearing ring and connected with the rotary platform, a slidable member mounted for reciprocatory movement in the guideway of said top section and substantially housed within the latter, means also housed within the top housing section for transmitting motion from the slidable member to the vertical shaft for rotating the rotary platl form, a cam drum mounted within the housing and operatively connected with the slidable member for reciprocating the same, a motor, and gearing for connecting the motor with the rotary drum. Y

4. A display stand including a frame provided with a housing and having a bearing ring located above and spaced from the housing, a rotary platform supported by the bearing ring for supporting merchandise to be displayed, a cam drum mounted within the housing, mechanism housed substantially within the top wall of the housing for operatively connecting the cam drum with the rotary platform for rotating the same, a motor carried by the base at one side of the housing exteriorly of the latter, a horizontal transverse shaft arranged at said side of the housing, worm gearing for connecting one end of the horizontal shaft with the motor, separate worm gearing for connecting the other end 'of the horizontal shaft with the cam drum, said housing being provided in one of its side walls with a recess receiving the worm gearing, and a cover plate closing said recess. Y

5. A display stand including a frame, a rotary platform mounted on the frame for supporting merchandise to be displayed, a motor, and mechanism carried by the frame and connected with the motor and with the rotary platform for actuating the latter and provided with means for rotating the platform in a clockwise and counterclockwise direction with pauses of a definite period of time between each of the rotary movements of the platform for displaying the front Y motor and with the rotary platform for actuating the latter and provided with means for rotating the platform in a clockwise and counterclockwise direction with pauses of a denite period of time between each of the rotary movements of the platform for displaying the front ofthe merchandise stationarily and then stationarily displaying the back of the merchandise after an intervening period of rotation, said mechanism including a drum provided in its periphery with a cam groove having pitch portions spaced around the drum from one another and connecting intervening circumferential dwell portions extending circumferentially of the drum in parallel planes, and means actuated by the cam groove for imparting said movements to the platform.

Y FRANK A. COOPER. 

